THE ADVENTURES OF ISTAR.  
Triumph of Izdubar.—Istar’s love.—Her offer of marriage.—Her promises.—Izdubar’s answer.—Tammuz.—Amours of Istar.—His refusal.—Istar’s anger.—Ascends to Heaven.—The bull.—Slain by Izdubar.—Istar’s curse.—Izdubar’s triumph.—The feast.—Istar’s despair.—Her descent to Hades.—Description.—The seven gates.—The curses.—Atsu-sunamir the Sphinx.—Release of Istar.—The dog of the dawn.—Lament for Tammuz.
 
 
N this chapter are included the sixth and seventh tablets, which both primarily refer to the doings of Istar.
 
Tablet VI.
 
The sixth tablet is in better condition than any of the former ones, and allows of something like a connected translation.
 
Column I.
 
1. .... his weapon, he made bright his weapon.
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2. Like a bull his mountain he ascended after him.
3. He destroyed him and clothed himself with his spoils.
4. The ... he put on and the fastening of the crown he tore.
5. Izdubar his crown put on (and the fastening of the crown he tore).
6. For the favour of Izdubar the princess Istar lifted the eyes:
7. I will make thee also Izdubar my husband,18
8. thy oath to me shall be thy bond,
9. thou shalt be husband and I will be thy wife.
10. I will make (thy) chariot glisten with crystal and gold,
11. of which the body is gold and its horns are strong.
12. I will cause thy days to find gifts, O judge (?) of the great.
13. Into our house enter, mid the scent of the pines.
14. When thou enterest our house
15. may the river Euphrates kiss thy feet.
16. There shall be under thee kings, lords, and princes.
17. The tribute of the mountains and plains may they bring to thee as an offering.
18. May thy herds and flocks bring forth twins,
19. may the increase of the cows come unto (thee),
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20. may thy (horse) be strong, without ceasing, in the chariot,
21. may (thy steed) in the yoke never have a rival.
—–———–———–———–
22. (Izdubar) opened his mouth and speaks;
23. (he says) to the princess Istar:
24. .... to thee thy possession
25. .... body and rottenness (?)
26. .... baldness and famine
27. .... I keep back the instruments of divinity
28. .... instruments of royalty
29. .... storm (?)
30. ...... he poured (?)
31. ...... I lingered
32. ...... I took thee
33. ...... caused to enter
34. the door afterwards .... ended wind and showers
35. palace .... the hero
36. mouth .... check her
37. that sign .... carry her
38. body glorious (?) .... carry her
39. grand .... tower of stone
40. they have dwelt (in) the land of the enemy
41. may she .... her lord
42. never may he woo thee for ever
43. never may a god praise thee
44. I took also the torch? .... I loved thee
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Column II.
 
1. Rest thee and .....
2. as for Tammuz the lover of (thy) youth
3. year after year thou hast wearied him with thy love.
4. Allala the eagle also thou lovest and
5. thou didst strike him, and his wings thou didst break;
6. he stood in the forest, he begged for wings.
7. Thou lovest also a lion lusty in might,
8. thou didst tear out by sevens his claws.
9. Thou lovest also a horse glorious in war,
10. he yielded himself and thou didst weary his love overmuch.
11. For seven kaspu (fourteen hours) thou didst weary his love without ceasing,
12. troubled and thirsting thou didst weary him.
13. To his mother Silele thou didst send him wearied with thy love.
14. Thou lovest also the shepherd Tabulu,
15. of whom continually thou didst ask for thy stibium.
16. Every day he propitiated thee with offerings,
17. thou didst strike him and to a hyena thou didst change him;
18. his own village drove him away;
19. his dogs tore his wounds.
20. Thou lovest also Isullanu the husbandman of thy father,
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21. who continually was subject to thy order;
22. each day had he made bright thy dish.
23. The eyes thou didst take from him and didst put him in chains,
24. (saying): O Isullanu, cut thy hand, eat (thy) eyes!
25. And thy hand thou didst bring out and thou didst strike? ....
26. Isullanu says to thee:
27. As for me what dost thou ask of me?
28. My mother, thou art not beautiful, and I eat not.
29. The food I have eaten is plentiful, even pain and waking;
30. trembling and faintness overcome me (?)
31. Thou didst hear also this ....
32. thou didst strike him; to a pillar19 thou didst change him,
33. thou didst place him also in the midst of the land ....
34. that he rise not up, that he go not ....
35. And as for me dost thou love me, and like to him wilt thou [serve me]?
—–———–———–———–
36. When Istar (heard) this,
37. Istar was angry and to heaven she ascended;
38. Istar went also to the presence of Anu her father,
39. to the presence of Anatu her mother she went and says:
40. My father, Izdubar hates me, and
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Column III.
 
1. Izdubar despises my beauty,
2. my beauty and my charms.
—–———–———–———–
3. Anu opened his mouth and spake, and
4. says to the princess Istar:
5. My daughter thou shalt remove ....
6. and Izdubar will count thy beauty,
7. thy beauty and thy charms.
—–———–———–———–
8. Istar opened her mouth and spake, and
9. says to Anu her father:
10. My father, create the bull of Anu20 and
11. Izdubar ....
12. when he is filled ....
13. I will strike ....
14. I will join ....
15. ........
16. over ....
—–———–———–———–
17. Anu opened his mouth and spake, and
18. says to the princess Istar:
19. .... thou shalt join ....
20. .... of noble names
21. .... maskhi ....
22. .... which is magnified ....
—–———–———–———–
23. Istar opened her mouth and spake, and
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24. says to Anu her father:
25. .... I will strike
26. .... I will break
27. .... of noble names
28. .... reducer
29. .... of foods
30. .... of him
(Some lines lost here.)
 
Column IV.
 
(Some lines lost.)
 
1. .... warriors
2. .... to the midst
3. .... three hundred warriors
4. .... to the midst
5. .... slay Hea-bani
6. in two divisions he parted in the midst of it
7. two hundred warriors .... made, the bull of Anu ....
8. in the third division .... his horns
9. Hea-bani struck? .... his might
10. and Hea-bani pierced ........
11. the bull of Anu by his head he took hold of ....
12. by the thickness of his tail ....
—–———–———–———–
13. Hea-bani opened his mouth and spake, and
14. says to Izdubar:
15. My friend, we have strengthened ....
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16. when we overthrow ...
17. My friend, I see ....
18. and the might ....
19. may I destroy ....
(Three lines lost.).
23. .... hands .... to Rimmon and Nebo
24. .... tarka .... um ....
25. .... Hea-bani took hold .... the bull of Anu
26. .... he .... also .... by his tail
27. ........ Hea-bani
Column V.
 
1. And Izdubar like a ....
2. the hero and (his friend)
3. in the vicinity of the middle of his horns ....
4. from the city they destroyed, the heart ....
5. to the presence of Samas ....
6. they had gone to the presence of Samas ....
7. he placed at the side the bulk (?) ....
—–———–———–———–
8. And Istar ascended over the fortress of Erech the lofty,
9. she destroyed the bull, she uttered a curse:
10. Woe to Izdubar who has overthrown me, has slain the bull of Anu.
11. Hea-bani also heard this speech of Istar,
12. and he cut off the member of the bull of Anu and before her he laid it;
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13. And what of it? since I conquered thee when him also (i.e. Izdubar)
14. I caused thee to listen to;
15. its skin also I have hung up at thy side.
16. Istar gathered her maidens
17. Samkhati and Kharimati,21
18. over the member of the bull of Anu a mourning she made.
19. Izdubar called on the people, the multitude
20. all of them:
21. with the thickness of his horns the young men were glorious,
22. 30 manehs of crystal (was) their substance,
23. the sharpness of the points was destroyed,
24. 6 gurs its mass altogether.
25. For the food of his god Lugal-turda he cut it up;
26. he seethed it and hangs it up in the rising of his fire;
27. in the river Euphrates they washed their hands.
28. They had been taken and gone
29. through the street of Erech riding,
30. the assembly of the warriors of Erech put trust in them.
31. Izdubar to the inhabitants of Erech
32. .... a proclamation made.
Column VI.
 
1. “If anyone is of ability among the chiefs, 235
2. if any is noble among the men,
3. Izdubar is able among the chiefs,
4. Izdubar is noble among the men,
5. .... our strength
6. .... he has not
7. .... his ....”
—–———–———–———–
8. Izdubar in his palace made a rejoicing,
9. the chiefs reclining lie on couches at night.
10. Hea-bani lies down, a dream he dreams.
11. Hea-bani came and the dream he explains,
12. and says to Izdubar.
Tablet VII.
 
The seventh tablet opens with the words, “My friend, what is this counsel the great gods are taking?” It is uncertain if any other portion of this tablet has been found, but part of a remarkable fragment, with a continuation of the story of Istar, has been placed here. It appears that the goddess, failing in her attempt in heaven to avenge herself on Izdubar for his slight, resolved to descend to hell, to search out, if possible, new modes of attacking him.
 
Columns I. and II. are lost, the fragments recommencing on Column III.
 
Column III.
 
1. .... people? to destroy his hand approached
2. .... raise in thy presence
3. .... like before
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4. .... Zaidu (shall accomplish) the wish of his heart
5. with the female Samkhat .... he brought
6. .... thee, the female Samkhat will expel thee
7. (homage) they did not perform ......
8. assemble thou a great assembly;
9. .... the strong one has caused thee to be struck, even thee.
10. ... goods of the house of thy fulness
After many lines destroyed, the story recommences in the fourth column.
 
Column IV.
 
1. [To Hades the country whence none return] I turn myself,
2. I spread like a bird my hands.
3. I descend, I descend to the house of darkness, the dwelling of the god Irkalla:
4. to the house out of which there is no exit,
5. to the road from which there is no return:
6. to the house from whose entrance the light is taken,
7. the place where dust is their nourishment and their food mud.
8. Its chiefs also are like birds covered with feathers;
9. the light is never seen, in darkness they dwell.
10. In the house, O my friend, which I will enter,
11. for me is treasured up a crown;
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12. with those wearing crowns who from days of old ruled the earth,
13. to whom the gods Anu and Bel have given names of rule.
14. Water (?) they have given to quench the thirst they drink limpid waters.
15. In the house, O my friend, which I will enter,
16. dwell the lord and the unconquered one,
17. dwell the priest and the great man,
18. dwell the worms of the deep of the great gods;
19. there dwells Etana, there dwells the god Ner,
20. (there dwells) the queen of the lower regions, Allat,
21. the mistress of the fields the mother of the queen of the lower regions before her submits,
22. and there is not any one that stands against her in her presence.
23. I will approach her and she will see me
24. ... and she will bring me to her
Here the story is again lost, Columns V. and VI. being absent. It would seem that Hea-bani is here telling his friend how he must die and descend into the house of Hades. Mr. Smith, however, thought that in the third column some one is speaking to Istar, trying to persuade her not to descend to Hades, while in the fourth column the goddess, who is suffering all the pangs of jealousy and hate, revels in the dark details of the description of the lower regions, and declares her determination to go there.
 
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If this view is correct, this part of the legend would be connected with the beautiful story of the Descent of Istar into Hades which describes how the goddess descended into the lower world in search of her husband Tammuz, the Sun-god, who had been slain by the boar’s tusk of winter. Tammuz became Adonis, the Ph?nician adonai “lord,” among the Greeks, to whom the story of Aphroditê and Adonis had been carried by the Ph?nicians. The story is one which meets us in the mythologies of many races and nations throughout the world, and has grown in each case out of the winter-sleep of the sun and his resurrection in the spring. Its last echo in our own European folklore may be heard in the tale of the Sleeping Beauty. A calendar found among the banking records of the Egibi firm in Babylonia notes on the 15th day of the month Tammuz or June “an eclipse of the Moon,” apparently in reference to the descent of the Moon-goddess Istar into Hades. The legend survives in a changed form in the Talmud (Yoma 69b, Sanhedrim 60a). Here it is said that after the Captivity the elders of the nation, headed by Ezra and Nehemiah, besought God that the demon of lust might be delivered into their hands. In spite of a prophetic voice which warned them of the consequences of their request, it was persisted in, and the demon was ............